Sweetness
by Amelia - But Not Pond
Summary: Hatsu-Haru Sohma is in love with Yuki Sohma. What will happen when he finds out his love returns the feeling?
1. Prologue: Sweetness

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the Fruits Basket characters, nor do I own the following scene that was actually written in the manga/anime.

_Rated Mature for later scenes. May contain: Fluff, lime, etc._

Ever since the day Hatsu-Haru confronted his enemy, Yuki, he never thought of him the same way. No longer was that Rat a menice to Haru. No longer was he an eye-sore, a reason to hate.

"You!" The young boy had yelled at the other, grey-haired child. "It's because of YOU the others think the cow is a fool! You caused this! It's all YOUR fault!" Haru was going into his black personality, his eyes went a pale shade of grey and vented his anger at the boy sitting in the windowsill, who he had never confronted before now.

After he finished his tirade, the older boy looked up, his purple eyes soft and kind as he spoke. "Is that what you are? A fool?"

"No... I'm not... I'm not a fool. I'm not a fool!" he said, his mood going from black to steadily grey.

"Then you're not a fool." Yuki had said, with a shy little smile on his face.

Haru just blinked at the other boy, not expecting this. He had thought Yuki was a devious little rat, who took advatage of all of his friends and allies. Yuki was the opposite. Yuki was not the rat from the folk tale.

Yuki was sweet.

~This is just a prologue, I'll be working on the first chapter tomorrow, since it's currently 10:00 PM.  
_XxO Kiddie_


	2. Chapter 1: It started with a bento

Hatsu-Haru Sohma stared out the window absentmindedly, faintly listening to the lecture in his homeroom class.

His first day of high school. The high school that Yuki goes to.

Haru could hardly contain his joy, but he had to maintain his usual brooding, enigmatic persona.

"Mr. Sohma, could you please answer my question without drifting to La-La-Land?" The teacher said, a glare smoldering into Haru's face.  
He simply looked up to the teacher and said "The question couldn't be that important, we aren't even learning anything today." His voice was dull and apathetic. Haru wouldn't waste his emotions on people he could care less about.

What he said pissed off the teacher, and he was sent to the principal's office. On his first day. Things were definitely going well.

XXX

After listening to the principal's spiel about behaving in class, and respecting your teachers and blah-blah-blah, he left to meet his cousins in the cafeteria.

"Haru! Haaaruuu!" Called a familiar cheerful voice. Momiji Sohma. The rabbit. Donning a cute little girl's school uniform.

"Oh calm down, will you?" Haru replied as he walked over to the table and sat down, playing with the gaudy bracelet on his boney wrist nervously. His hands trembled in anticipation so badly he hand to sit on them, pretending like he doesn't know he looks weird.

"Oh, GOD, Momiji. What the hell are you WEARING?" Boomed the irritated voice of Kyo Sohma, the cat.

"I'm wearing a uniform, silly! Doesn't it look nice on me?" The flamboyant young boy twirled around in his skirt. Sure, he was a boy, but that doesn't mean he can't look nice in girls clothes.

"NO! It looks horrible! You are NOT a girl, Momiji!" Kyo hollered, his face getting red with anger. _Still not able to control your anger, huh, Kyo?_ Haru thought to himself.

"Oh you are so cute, Momiji-chan!" Tohru called, entering the cafeteria with, _ohmygodohmygodohmygod_ Yuki. Tohru scuttled over to the feminine young boy and gave him hugs and kisses. To which Momiji welcomed and returned the actions.  
"Tohru! That is note cute! It's just wrong!" Kyo protested. _I bet he secretly wants those hugs and kisses all to himself_, mused Haru, as he sneaked a few looks at Yuki.

"Oh, let him wear what he wants, stupid cat." Yuki said, his voice silky smooth and soft.

"DOESN'T ANYONE FOLLOW THE RULES AROUND HERE?" The cat burst out. Of course, Kyo wouldn't intentionally vent his anger with such a nonsense subject, but it was better than taking it out on Tohru, like he used to.

Yuki left out a soft sigh and walked up to Haru, and sat beside him. "I can't believe how stupid he is." He murmured to him, and this made Haru's chest swell. It was like he shared a secret with him, even if he didn't. Yuki still told him something that was meant for him to hear only. Haru was so obsessed.

"Y-Yeah, he's pretty stupid..." Haru managed in a breathless voice, almost sounding like he had a cold.

Yuki blinked at this and said "Hatsu-Haru, are you alright?" He laid a delicate hand on Haru's forehead to check his temperature. Haru could die.

"Yes!" He said, his voice shaky and nervous. "I'm f-fine. Just a little... um... nervous about the new school and stuff. I've been getting lost all day! This school is so much more complicated than the middle school. Why is that?" Haru babbled, his voice was still quiet so it was drowned out by the loud squabble going on between Kyo and Momiji.

The rabbit was crying, well, _whining _and Kyo was bickering with him and Tohru. Tohru was trying to calm everything down, and failing in the act.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Yuki said, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"I- uh... I'm just having trouble with school, that's all." Haru said, shortening his story. He let out a soft, nervous laugh and stood up. "Umm... I'm going to go get my lunch, what did you bring?" He attempted to look into Yuki's purple eyes, but he couldn't. They were too intense for him to look at without swooning.

"Oh, I brought some soba noodles and pickled turnips with rice. How about you?" He replied, gesturing to the grey bento box on the table. Haru felt a little embarrassed, since Yuki ate so healthy, and Haru _definitely_ didn't.

"I brought, ah... Inarizushi with wasabi sauce, curry and some bread." That wasn't healthy whatsoever. _Great, he probably thinks I'm a fat person._ Haru thought to himself, now feeling a little morose.

"Oh, yum!" Yuki exclaimed, to Haru's surprise. "That sounds really good. Can you share some with me?" Haru blinked and nodded slowly, and he went to retrieve his bento.

XXX

Hatsu-Haru stood outside of the cafeteria, bento box in hand. _Oh my god... what am I going to do? I'll be having lunch with him for the first time. Will it be a date? No. No, no. Not a date. He wouldn't consider it a date... I doubt he even likes guys..._ he thought, internally yakking.

He let out a soft breath to collect himself and he walked into the cafeteria.

"Back!" He said cheerfully to Yuki, and sat down in front of him. Kyo, Tohru, and Momiji sitting at the table behind them.

"I wonder if I should make leek soup for dinner tonight..." Tohru said, looking to Kyo and Momiji for reactions. (Momiji was spending a few nights at Shigure's place.)

"Ohh! That sounds delicious!" Momiji exclaimed, beginning to bounce in his seat.  
"EWW I HATE LEEKS!" Kyo growled, his eye twitching slightly. "After all this time, Tohru, you should know that." His voice calmed a little, he seemed like he felt bad about lashing out at Tohru.  
"Eh heh heh..." Tohru laughed nervously, keeping that cute smile on her face, "I'll just make you some tuna rolls." This made Kyo lighten up, and Haru tuned his attention back to the Prince.

"That's good," Yuki said. "I'm sorry, I should have waited for you to come back before I started eating." He had a pair of chop sticks and a bowl of rice in his slim hands. He had such beautiful hands.

"No, no, it's alright. I would have been holding you up." Haru mumbled and began eating, his eyes glued to the table and not looking up at his love.

"If you say so..." Yuki murmured back, starting to eat his noodles. Haru dipped a peace of bread into his curry bowl and began eating. "May I have some of that?" Yuki pointed to the bowl and the bread and Haru nodded, sharing with him, and not taking any more for himself.

The gray-haired boy before him made him lose his appetite. His heart was thumping so hard, he could feel it against his stomach, and he felt sick.

Yuki must've noticed him picking at his food when he said "Are you feeling alright? You look kind of pale." His eyes were full of concern. He was so cute when he was worried.  
Haru gave a surprisingly convincing laugh, seeming perfectly fine with this act. "Aren't I always pale? I guess it must be my nerves again, it's really, um, scary here." That was dumb to say, he thought, I never get scared of anything.

Yuki eventually let it go after several "I'm fine's" and "Nothing's wrong's."

Haru liked that Yuki was fretting over him. It meant Yuki thought about him today.

He was so sweet.

XXX

Yes, yes, this is a short chapter. I wrote it all in an hour or so. Woo! A lot of this also comes from the actual series, but I tweaked it a little. As always, I do not own any of the characters.  
I'll try to write the second chapter in a span of a couple days. R&R's are always appriciated!  
_XxO Kiddie_


	3. Chapter 2: Invitation

As usual, I don't own Fruits Basket. Although, I do wish I could have thought of such amazing characters.

Haru stood beside Hatori as they waited outside of Akito's room. Akito was having a private meeting with Kagura. She had a rage the night before. She had broken so many doors and windows with her boar form. She was so stressed lately, but no one knew why.

He heard Akito yell at her, muffled by the door. Hatori winced and closed his eyes. The voice of Akito had always effected him negatively, ever since the incident with Kana...

Haru patiently waited until the yelling stopped and the door opened. Kagura walked out and down the hallway. Hatori disappeared into Akito's room and Haru decided to follow Kagura.

As they descended into Kagura's room, he kept his mouth shut and a caring hand on her shoulder.

They shut the door and sat down on Kagura's bed, Haru putting his arms around her protectively as she cried silently into his shoulder. Haru said nothing. He knew he had no business asking her what went on. It was times like these that Haru wish he could forget.

XxO

He wished he could be like Yuki and move into Shigure's place. He, like most of the Sohma family, hated it at the main house. But he knew that he belonged in the Main House. Life on the outside was too different for him, he could hardly understand half the things that went on in the real world.

Hatsu-Haru was shaken awake by one of his classmates. He wasn't sure of her name, but she gave him a stern look and pointed to the board, as if to say "Pay attention, you stupid cow!" and she hastily went back to taking notes. Haru's eyes drooped and he let out a sigh.

He raised his hand to ask for the bathroom pass, and he left the room, ignoring all the usual stares he got.

Haru stood in front of the mirror, glad no one was around.

He cupped his pale face and stared at it in the mirror, studying his black and white hair, gray eyes, and apathetic expression. With a sigh, he went into one of the bathroom stalls to relieve himself, then with a quick hair tousle, he walked out of the bathroom and back into the class room, shooing away all his self-consciousness about his looks.

"Ahhh, Mr. Sohma, you've decided to come back. You were gone for over twenty minutes, are you alright?" The teacher said, his face obviously showing his sarcasm and disregard for Haru's well-being.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Haru managed a mumble, sitting in his seat and starting to copy the notes on the board.

"If you keep disrespecting me and my class, you might as well get out." The teacher said, no longer wearing the sarcastic smirk.

Haru raised his eyes to look at the teacher. "Who ever said I was disrespecting you?"

"You keep up with that attitude and you'll never get into a good college."

"Excuse me, sir, but what attitude have I got?" Haru didn't even blink.

The teacher looked a bit flustered, Haru having won this fight, since he obviously didn't have any sort of emotion going on. "Well!-... Um... You just... don't seem serious about this class!" The other students knew that they were forgotten about, so they just started whispering to each other and passing notes.

"Neither do any of the other students here." He hitched a thumb back to a person who was giggling with her friend, who immediately shut up and straightened herself and pretended to write in her notebook.

"Y-You just..." The teacher sighed and gave up, giving a brief apology to his students and started his lecture once more.

XxO

Haru worked on his homework in silence at the kitchen table, listening to Hatori and Ayame talking. Well, more Ayame than Hatori.

"Hari, did you heeear about my new clothing line at my store?" He said with an overly-enthusiastic voice, eyes sparkling.

"No, I haven't. How raunchy is it?" He replied, sipping his coffee

"It is not raunchy! It's art!" And he went on to explain his new super hero/heroine line with all sorts of outfits for those with geeky fetishes.

"So if you want to do it with Obiwan Kanobi, we have all sorts of different outfits just for that one character. Everything is custom-made for all our customers!" Ayame giggled at the end of his sentence, as if he were imagining the weirdo fantasies some people had for nerd-movie characters.

"You're getting more insane by the minute." Hatori said in his usual bland, bored tone of voice.

"And you're a party pooper~~~" Ayame said with a pout, sitting back down and playing with his long, braided silver hair.

Haru mumbled a bit of profanity as he tried to concentrate on his chem homework, failing in doing so. He picked up his books and left the room, settling into the living room and trying to get his work done once more.

_Clap your hands all ye children; there's a clamor in your whispering! Clap your hands tonight. Hear the silence screams. Claa~aap yooo~ooour haaa~aands~~_

With a reluctant, annoyed sigh, he opened the flap of his phone and pressed it to his ear, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"What." Haru said, clenching his teeth in annoyance.

"O-Oh... I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Haru-kun." Tohru's voice murmured into the phone. "Shigure wanted you to join us for dinner tonight, if you... you know... wanted to come."

"No, no, it's okay, Tohru. I'll come over. It's not like I have anything better to do." He gave a short glance to his neglected homework and stood up, holding the phone with his shoulder against his ear as he packed up his school bag. _I'll just do it tomorrow morning_, he thought, his mind picturing Yuki, eating to his heart's content while talking with Tohru and Shigure and Kyo...

There was a hum against his ear that he could barely hear. What was it? Why was it trying to shake away his thoughts of Yuki?

"Haru? Haru, are you still there?" _Oh_, he thought, _it was Tohru_.

"Ye-Yeah, Tohru, I'm here. I'll be there in a jiffy." He hung up and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Down the hall he went with his bag dragging behind him into his room. Haru scurried around, trying to decide on what to wear. What does Yuki like? Would skinnies be too over the top? _N-No_, he thought, I_ don't want him to think I'm... that I'm a flaming fag..._ He winced a bit as he thought of this and shook his head.

XxO

After what seemed like hours he pulled on a pair of pail gray jeans, a black H.I.M. T-shirt and red chucks, shimmying out the door when no one was paying attention.

Finally he was able to catch a bus to another Sohma residence and got off about four blocks away from Shigure's house.

Naturally, he ran all the way there, using up the pinned up energy and nervousness in himself as he sprinted to his love's home. _I'm coming, Yuki..._

End of Chapter 2! Of course, I thought this was going to be a long chapter, and it turned out to be shorter than the first. Go figure. And I've been working on this for, like, five days. I fail so hard... well, I hope you enjoyed anyway. R&Rz be appreciated!~~

_XxO Kiddie_


	4. Chapter 3: Dinner and a Shove

Haru held himself up against the wall, panting and breaking a sweat, despite the cool evening hair. He tilted his head to look towards the sky, the sun turning a soft orange and signifying the sunset approaching. The clouds were making soft, wispy shapes. The sky looked reminiscent of sherbet ice cream. He grinned and looked back at the door, reading the panel to make sure it was the right house. "Sohma."

He stood up and was still winded. He grumbled to himself. _I shouldn't have ran_, he thought. _Now I'm all tired and gross… _He collected himself, ran a hand through his damp white hair, and knocked on the front door.

Coming from inside, he heard a low rumble, indistinct yelling, a crash of something toppling over, then silence. The orange-headed cat slowly opened the door, his brown eyes were fixed on the ground. "Ah… uh… Come in…" he mumbled, "Sorry." He moved out of the way so Haru could enter. On the inside, he saw a lamp that was shattered on the ground; Tohru was stooped over it, sweeping up the mess with that annoyingly cute smile on her face.

Haru stepped inside and removed his shoes, going over to Tohru and helping her clean the mess. "Here." The cow collected a few shards of glass and the remains of the bulb. He followed the light brunette girl into the kitchen, throwing the deceased lamp away.

"I, uh… got angry about… uh… having to answer the door." Kyo said, now standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His face was flushed and his eyes were still fixated on the ground.

"It's alright," Tohru replied, going up to him and patting his shoulder. "I'm a great multitasker!" Suddenly, the pot on the stove started boiling and bubbling, the steam and smoke coming from it making the fire alarm go off.

_Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep_

Kyo looked up at the alarm perched on the ceiling, his eyes filling with rage, his ears turning into his feline ears, hair standing on end. "Arrghhh!" He jumped up, cat like, to retrieve the alarm, slamming it to the floor. The beeping waned down into silence, the pieces scattered around the kitchen floor. Meanwhile, Tohru turned off the stove.

Within seconds, he turned back to normal. "Oh… oops…" Tohru didn't miss a beat, and cleaned up the second mess.

Haru rolled his eyes and looked up to meet Shigure in the door way, snickering. Shigure peeked over his reading glasses and sighs. "That's the third one you've trashed this month. You could've waved a towel near it or something." The dog retreated back to dining room, Haru trailing behind him.

"So…" Haru began, taking a seat across from Shigure, noticing the manuscript in his hand. "That your newest book?" Haru usually didn't take interest in Shigure's smutty works, but he didn't mind making small talk while he looked around for Yuki.

"Haha, yes. I'm only keeping it now to tease Mit-chan. She's a silly girl. I told her, the other day, that there was only 13 pages finished." He said with a giggle, an amused expression plastered on his face.

Haru rolled his dark eyes and glanced back towards the kitchen. He saw Tohru and Kyo chatting idly. It looked like she was teaching him something about cooking. He smiled lightly and looked back to the dog, asking "So, where's Yuki?" He tried to be nonchalant, messing with the tablecloth.

"He's out. Watering his garden or something." Shigure sat his manuscript down next to him and removed his glasses. "He has such boring hobbies, you know. Gardening, studying, that student council stuff. So dull." He sighed and peeked over to the kitchen.

"I-I don't think that stuff's dull…" Stammered Haru, "I didn't know he gardened." He smiled internally at the thought. Shigure walked into the kitchen to see how dinner was coming along.

He imagined himself and Yuki, holding hands while watching the sunset. The two of them, covered in sweet sweat and a light coating of dirt from working in their garden, which was growing, the colors looking vibrant with the sunlight shining upon it.

Shigure was babbling during his daydream. He must've walked back into the room when he was thinking. Haru nodded a little, pretending he was listening.

"He should take you to see his garden, after dinner. I hear from Tohru that the growing strawberries look delicious during sunset." Haru blushed softly and nodded, meeting Shigure's eyes. He started to decline, but he saw something in the dog's eyes. Knowing?... Understanding?... No, no. Haru must've been imagining it. But…the look stopped him from saying no.

"Sure, I guess…" He muttered, looking up as the sliding doors in the hallway opened.

"Oh hello, Haru. Nice seeing you here. Glad you could join us." The soft voice of Yuki resonated from the hall, his grey head peeking in.

"H-hi! And, uh… thanks. Nice seeing you, too." Haru got one look of Yuki's purple eyes, and looked back at the tablecloth, with which he was wringing out of anxiety.

The rat smiled and looked in the direction of Shigure. "I'm gonna wash up quickly before dinner." Haru watched him leave the room out of the corner of his eyes, glancing back to Shigure, who just leered at him. _Oh my god_, he thought, _he knows_! He flushed and looked away from the dog, clenching his fists.

"I won't tell anyone. But I do know love when I see it! I do write about it, you know." He chuckled and sipped the cup of tea he must've gotten when he was talking with Tohru.

XxO

"Dinner's ready!" Called Tohru, carefully bringing in the dishes with the help of Kyo, who seemed to have lightened up since his little outbursts. Haru looked up as the door suddenly flew open, a certain bubbly blond hopping in.

"Halloooo Tooohruuuu~~~" Called the rabbit, hopping over to her for a hug. She giggled and gladly accepted

_Pop! _And a puff of smoke. Momiji turned into his rabbit form, having a happily pleasant look on his furry face.

"I'm so glad I could come over! I had to beg Hatori to take me here… he can't join us tonight. He's gotta deal with Akito tonight." Tohru set Momiji on the ground and kneeled down to collect his German-style clothing, going into the next room and setting them on the ground for when Momiji changes back.

Kyo's face bubbled red but he bit his lip, sitting down next to Haru, cross-legged. "So… Haru… how's, uh, everybody?"

Haru looked a tad surprised at the inquiry, but shrugged. "Everything's fine, I guess. Akito's got the flu again… it is that season, now. Once the weather cools, he'll probably be bedridden 'till new years." He sighed at the thought. He thought about how Hatori always had a pained expression when dealing with Akito, for whatever reason. He couldn't blame the dragon for this.

"Ah… well…" Kyo lowered his voice to a mutter, "He deserves it."

Haru couldn't help but agree, and he replied with a nod and a sigh.

Yuki walked into the room, his hair lightly damp and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. "What's all the ruckus?" He blinked when he saw little Momiji at his feet, still a bunny. "Hello, Momiji, why're you here?"

"Dinner!" Squeaked the rabbit, moving to hop into the other room as he _pop_'d and returned to his human form.

"Ahh…" Yuki sat down across from Haru and Kyo. The cow turned his attention to Shigure, who was now reading a novel that must've spawned while they weren't paying mind.

"What're you reading, there, Shigure?" He asked, eyes fixed on the table, everyone else was taking their seat and starting to eat.

"This really cute, detailed homoerotic romance novel. A tale of two star-crossed lovers, not unlike Romeo and Juliet… only it would be Romeo and Jules." He snickered and went on. "One man is a Priest; the other is an Atheist man who just happened to meet him when he was forced to view a sermon. He meets and falls in love with the man through sessions in the confession box." Shigure sighed and fanned himself. "Such a sweet story."

Haru felt his face grow hot, biting his lip and standing. "If you'll excuse me." He got up and escaped to the bathroom.

XxO

He sat on the side of the tub for a little while, leaning over and flushing the toilet before getting up and facing the mirror. He turned on the faucet and splashed icy water into his face, exhaling roughly. _Damnit_, he cursed to himself. _Why would Shigure do that to me? Humiliate me? IN FRONT OF HIM. _He couldn't possibly face Yuki again tonight… not after that.

But wait. Did he see Yuki blushing too? _No, just my imagination again_. _He's not gay. He likes Tohru, doesn't he_? And even if Yuki WAS blushing at it…he probably just thought the story was uncomfortable. Yeah. That had to be it.

Haru shut off the faucet and walked out back into the dining room. The group was now making conversation about the new school year. Momiji was talking excitedly about his teacher, and all the friends he was making. Haru smiled, taking his seat back next to Kyo.

"Saiyuri told me today that she really likes rabbits! Can you believe the coincidence? I bet she'd fall in love with me if she knew!" He said with a light giggle, his cheeks turning all rosy.

"Aww, how cute, Momiji!" Tohru said, holding her rice bowl to her heart dramatically.

"You can't say stupid stuff like that, Momiji," Kyo interjected, "If she knew, she'd think you were a freak. That always happens when people find out about the curse." He shoved a tuna roll into his mouth, to silence himself when Tohru protested.

"So, Yuki, you know your garden and stuff? You should show Haru. We were talking about it earlier, and he finds it all very interesting." Shigure smirked in Haru's direction.

"Really, Haru? I didn't know you liked gardens." Yuki smiled in his direction.

"Oh, y-yeah… I'm a cow—remember? Cows love veggies and stuff…"

"You should show him right after dinner, Yuki. I'm sure he'd love it." Shigure sniffed the air, blinking then regaining his smirk.

Yuki tilted his head and nodded. "Well, okay. Sounds good to me."

_Oh shit_, Shigure just set up their first date.

XxO

Woo cliffhangers~~~

Well, I finally wrote a new chapter! Wooo~~~ -confetti- I'm sorry for not updating this. I'm trying to get into the fanfiction groove of things. This is the longest chapter I've written. Roughly 2,000 words. I'm proud of it. :3 The next chapter should be dynamic… and dramatic… muahahha. Pleasepleaseplease review. Your reviews keep me writing. I should be updating my other story, Red or Yellow, this week as well.

xx


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